Harsh winter affected North Dakota economy

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Severe winter weather during the last three months of the year affected key industries tied to oil extraction, slowing North Dakota's taxable sales and purchases in 2013, the state Tax Commissioner said Monday.

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Devils Lake Journal - Devils Lake, ND

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Posted May. 6, 2014 at 7:01 PM

Posted May. 6, 2014 at 7:01 PM

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Severe winter weather during the last three months of the year affected key industries tied to oil extraction, slowing North Dakota's taxable sales and purchases in 2013, the state Tax Commissioner said Monday.

North Dakota's taxable sales and purchases — a key indicator of economic activity in the state — increased less than 1 percent in 2013 following a year of record double-digit growth. Tax Department records show taxable sales and purchases totaled a record $25.4 billion last year, up from $25.2 billion in 2012.

Tax Commissioner Ryan Rauschenberger said that he was pleased with the record-setting year though a "slower and more sustainable growth" was expected in 2013, after taxable sales and purchases in oil-rich North Dakota soared 29 percent in 2012.

"I think we will maintain that growth and hold strong at more sustainable single-digit numbers," Rauschenberger said.

Rauschenberger said 11 of North Dakota's 15 economic sectors grew in 2013. But harsher-than-normal weather during the last quarter of the 2013 affected mining and oil extraction, construction, and transportation and warehousing.

"All of those sectors are tied to oil," Rauschenberger said. "And weather had an impact on those. A big impact."

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